Enric Miralles | |
|---|---|
 TheScottish Parliament Building committee room ceiling. | |
| Born | (1955-02-12)12 February 1955 |
| Died | 3 July 2000(2000-07-03) (aged 45) Sant Feliu de Codines, Catalonia, Spain |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards |
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| Practice | Piñon-Viaplana Miralles + Pinós EMBT |
| Buildings | Scottish Parliament Building Igualada Cemetery |
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Enric Miralles Moya (12 February 1955 – 3 July 2000) was a Spanish architect fromBarcelona,Catalonia.[1] He graduated from the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB) at theUniversitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in 1978. After establishing his reputation with a number of collaborations with his first wifeCarme Pinós; the couple separated in 1991. Miralles later married fellow architectBenedetta Tagliabue, and the two practiced together as EMBT Architects. Miralles'magnum opus and his largest project, theScottish Parliament Building, was unfinished at the time of his death.
In 1978, Miralles completed his examinations at theEscola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura (ETSAB) inBarcelona. From 1973 to 1978, he worked in the architect's office ofAlbert Viaplana andHelio Piñón.[2] Whilst there—among other things—he was involved in the construction of thePlaça dels Països Catalans, the forecourt for theEstació de Sants. In 1984, after severalarchitectural competition awards, Miralles formed his own office in Barcelona with his first wifeCarme Pinós, which they led together until 1991. Within the rising Spanish architecture scene of the late 1980s following the death ofFrancisco Franco, their unusual buildings attracted international attention. As a result, they received numerous commissions from Spain and overseas. After their separation, Miralles and Pinós continued to work in separate offices.
In 1993, Miralles formed a new practice with his second wife, the Italian architectBenedetta Tagliabue, under the name "EMBT Architects". She resumed the practice under his name after his death. The most important projects; theScottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh and the multistoried building for the Spanish gas companyGas Natural in Barcelona, were only finished after his death. Miralles died at the age of 45 as the result of abrain tumor.[3]
The independent architectural language of Miralles can be difficult to classify in terms of contemporary architecture. It is influenced by Spanish architects, such asAlejandro de la Sota,José Antonio Coderch andJosep Maria Jujol, and also from international greats such asLe Corbusier,Louis Kahn andAlvar Aalto and the RussianConstructivist movement of the early 20th century. The freely formed buildings utilising massive building materials and steel, develop from their relationship with the environment and connect themselves to it. The form is constructed using often unusual materials which are generally left with natural surfaces. Form and material interpret the place, traditions and history in a personal and poetic art, as his critics attest. From the starting point of the townscape or landscape he would design a building in its totality, down to the details of the furnishing and the exterior installations. Therefore, the execution of the details was just as important to the communication of meaning as the main form. Both were developed over a large number of designs and with numerous models as the main tool of the design process.
Charles Jencks, writing on the problems surrounding the construction of the Scottish Parliament Building and the controversial reception of its design forArchitecture Today, summed up Miralles' architectural style:
Miralles, like many otherpostmodern architects, has a preference for piling on themotifs and ideas: upturned boats, keel shapes, deep window reveals like a castle, crow-steps, prow shapes, diagonal gutters, 'bamboo bundles' and above all the dark granite gun-shape that repeats as an ornamental motif at a huge scale. Everywhere broken silhouettes compete for attention, just like the alleyways next door. That's fine, and contextual, but it's quite a meal. As a result of the complexity, the parliament is really a kind of small city, with much too much to digest in one short three-hour sitting. The Scottish parliament will take time to judge: maybe not 50 years but three or four visits, long enough to absorb all the richness and get used to those jumpy black granite guns, the most arbitrary of several questionable ornaments.[4]
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Miralles was an active teacher at numerous universities. In 1985, he became a professor at the ETSAB in Barcelona. During 1990, he took over the conceptional design chair at theStädelschule inFrankfurt am Main. In 1993, Miralles received an invitation fromHarvard University to occupy theKenzo Tange chair. He taught as a guest lecturer atColumbia University in New York,Princeton University inNew Jersey, theArchitectural Association in London, theBerlage Instituut inRotterdam, theMackintosh School of Architecture inGlasgow and the Universities ofBuenos Aires andMexico City.
In Partnership with Carme Pinós
In Partnership with Benedetta Tagliabue
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